DISQUS

Lee · 1 year ago

Surely God did it? :-)


When I first heard of this hexagon, I went WOW... Cool, I wonder how?



It's mystery that drives science forward - love it



Lee

J. C. Samuelson · 1 year ago

There are also some nutters who think it's a hyperdimensional thing, whatever that means. It's the god-didn't-have-to-do-it-for-it-to-be-supernatural crowd that thinks this. People like Richard C. Hoagland, for example.


By the way, I don't have the first clue whether the hypothesis proposed in the post is reasonable. It just seems intuitive within the narrow and very limited framework of knowledge I've been able to glean for myself concerning physics. So don't think for a moment I've explained a damn thing! :)



It's really funny how in earlier days I didn't think science was all that exciting, and now I can hardly get enough! I blame the intellectual paucity of youth and religion for it. ;)

Billy · 1 year ago

That's cool. Does the hexagon rotate? My initial thought was isothermal cooling as seen on basaltic colums - not sure how rgat would translate to spinning gas though.

J. C. Samuelson · 1 year ago

Billy,


Yes and no. The hexagon rotates, at least from our perspective, but that could have a lot to do with the planet's rotation. Locally, it doesn't really rotate, though. The winds creating/bracketing it swirl around it, but it doesn't really move.



It might make a bit more sense if you watch this, this, or this.



Hope that helps!

J. C. Samuelson · 1 year ago

BTW, when I said it doesn't rotate locally, I mean that it matches Saturn's rotational velocity. In other words, it's a fixed feature in relation to the planet itself.


Maybe that'll help clear things up a bit?

Billy · 1 year ago

Thanks JC

Jonathan · 1 year ago

Now this is bloody interesting! A stable feature, perhaps like Jupiter's Red Spot, yet with a fixed shape. Fascinating.

J. C. Samuelson · 1 year ago

Jonathan,


Its stability is one of its most remarkable characteristics, I agree. It wouldn't surprise me at all if it has persisted as long as Jupiter's famous red spot. Maybe even longer, given that it's seemingly tied in some way to the planet's rotation.